The Dr. Victor and Julia Botto Vari Italian Studies Initiative at Santa Clara University is fully endowed by Dr. and Mrs. Vari, will bring together scholars, teachers, students, and the general public who have an interest in Italian language and culture in a diverse and interdisciplinary academic community with University, regional, and global objectives. The Initiative will employ a number of strategies in an effort to engage our students and the greater community in dialogue and study including, but not limited to: public lectures; symposia and workshops; online learning and social media; theatre, music, and art; engagement with a residential learning community; and Study Abroad. The Vari Italian Studies Initiative will shape all its activities to teach the knowledge, culture, and habits of mind necessary for the serious reflection that is part of our Western cultural and intellectual heritage from Italy, the “cradle of Western civilization.”

Established by Victor and Julia Vari to study and preserve all aspects of the life and culture of Italy: language, literature, art, religion, history, economics, and politics, and to celebrate and provide a foundation for the understanding of the contributions of Italians and Italian Americans in the history of the world and America